A former senior managing director and three other officials of Nippon Shinpan Co. pleaded guilty Tuesday to paying off a "sokaiya" corporate extortionist so the racketeer would not disrupt the company's shareholders' meetings.
The racketeer, Kikuo Kondo, 60, who allegedly received 27.5 million yen in his bank account from Nippon Shinpan between late 1999 and September, also pleaded guilty in the first trial session for the case at the Tokyo District Court.
The former senior managing director, Yoshihisa Oshio, 63, and the three other indicted Nippon Shinpan officials were in charge of the leading consumer credit company's general shareholders' meetings.